"Three brothers who ran local law firm Marrache & Co allegedly stole millions of pounds from their clients over many years, assisted by one of their most trusted employees, the Supreme Court was told yesterday.

The claim was made as the prosecution delivered its opening submission in a multi-million pound fraud trial stemming from the collapse of the firm.

Prosecutor John McGuinness, QC, said Marrache & Co went bust in February, 2010, in “a rather dramatic fashion” owing “millions and millions of pounds” to banks, clients, employees and companies with which it did business.

The total amount owed by Marrache & Co when it was placed into liquidation was around £40m, of which nearly £27m was owed to the firm’s clients, the court heard.

“The big losers…were its clients,” Mr McGuinness said.

At the time of the collapse, the firm’s ledgers showed it should have had millions of pounds of client money in its accounts.

But “all that was left in February, 2010, was a few thousand pounds,” Mr McGuinness told the court. “The rest of the money had gone.”

Brothers Isaac, Benjamin and Solomon Marrache, together with former employee Leanne Turnbull (represented by David Evans QC), have pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to defraud."